The Show Notes
Do you remember getting your first paycheck as a teacher? The joy of knowing you were getting paid to do what you love, and what you had been studying and preparing for was unreal!
And when you’re single and fueled primarily by that passion to impact the lives of your students, that can absolutely be enough to live on.
But when you are growing a family or trying to pay off school debt, it’s often necessary to get a side-hustle to make ends meet. In fact, about ⅓ of teachers in the workforce report that’s exactly what they are doing.
Our guest today, Ethan Deceuster was in that very same boat. Ethan loved working with students, but burning the candle at both ends just wasn’t sustainable. Something had to change.
Listen to hear about Ethan’s transition from teaching 5th grade, what motivated his decision, how he got his foot in the door, and what a day in the life as an instructional designer looks like now!
Teaching Was Always More Than “Just” a Job
Listening to Ethan talk about what he loved about teaching 5th grade makes you wish you could have your child in his class. He uses humor to motivate. He wrote songs with his students and played them on guitar regularly. And while Ethan could make even the most boring subject matter come alive, he was most passionate about developing the character of the students in his classroom. His students knew they mattered, and that mattered to Ethan.
But Ethan struggled with parts of the job too. One of those was classroom management. It was difficult for him to be the “enforcer.” He hated having to discipline a kid. Those days were draining.
Living the Dream...and Living on a Prayer
Though any teacher has their challenges, where the rubber really met the road was that Ethan and his wife were trying to survive on $950 a month with a brand new baby. It was super important to them for Tiana to be able to stay home with their kids, but the bills were starting to stack up.
So, Ethan did what a lot of teachers do, he started looking for a side hustle. He realized that with his background in music, he could make decent money teaching guitar lessons at a local music store.
Picture this. Ethan got to school by 7:00 am to prep for the day. At work ‘til the end of his contracted day at 4 pm. Off to teach guitar lessons at 4:30. Home at 7. He sometimes made it to dinner and he was averaging about 30 minutes of face time with his family a day.
You can see the challenge. Maybe you know because you’re working the same schedule. After a few months of this grind, Ethan and Tiana realized that even with a whopping $800 a year raise each year in the classroom, something had to shift.
Striking Out in a New Direction
It can be super intimidating to try to convince someone to take a risk on you for a role you have no experience in. But Ethan was motivated to try anything to prioritize his family’s future.
Ethan reached out to his network, including a local university, Dixie State to express a desire to get some experience with instructional design. He was persistent enough that they offered him work on a one-time project, which quickly turned into contract work, and eventually a job offer.
Ethan misses the interaction he had with students and even working with so many other colleagues during a workday. But there’s also plenty of things he doesn’t mind-you know, like having the liberty to use the restroom whenever he wants. But more importantly, being an instructional designer has transformed his life in a lot of ways. He’s home regularly on time for dinner. He can flex his schedule to attend school events for his kids. Reading and playing games with his kids is a daily event. His wife even mentioned that he’s just more patient and emotionally available.
A Day in the Life of This Instructional Designer
Depending on where you work, the job description of an instructional designer can vary greatly, so it’s helpful to get an insider perspective from someone like Ethan. As an instructional designer, Ethan helps professors at the university take their content and structure it on the online platform.
Ethan also helps professors ensure their classes meet specific standards and that they know how to teach the content in engaging ways. On any given day, he will help put out fires when the tech side of things is not cooperating. Then he divides his day among the 4-5 courses he is creating at a time. Ethan also spends a lot of time meeting with professors on each of those courses.
Key Takeaways to Consider As You Pursue A Career in Instructional Design
Ethan has a couple of tips for teachers who are underpaid and overworked in the classroom and want to use their teaching skills in a new role.
- Understand that there’s going to be a tradeoff when you are making a transition. Yes, you will miss elements of the classroom and you will likely feel like you are selling out or abandoning your students. Consider what you will be gaining by moving in another direction. What will contribute to your overall health and well-being? Pursue what makes you a better person overall.
- Be confident that your skill set is valuable beyond the classroom. Ethan shared how many people on his team are former teachers and how a basic understanding of how people learn or concepts like Bloom’s Taxonomy, for example, can set you apart from a lot of other applicants.
Does any part of Ethan’s story resonate with yours? Do you like the sound of the work he does on a daily basis? If you’re ready to explore the possibility of pursuing a career as an instructional designer, I want to hear from you! What questions do you have? And how can I support you?
Ready to Become an Instructional Designer Too?
If you enjoyed this episode I invite you to take a screenshot and tag me on your Instagram stories @teachertransition and tell me your biggest takeaway!
Want to know what other work opportunities you might love beyond the classroom? Click here to get the FREE Top Jobs for Teachers download.
A Breakdown of This Episode:
- [15:47] Listen to Ethan's process when he crunched the numbers on his family's future
- [22:15] Discover how Ethan broke into instructional design and what he would tell you to do in hindsight.
- [29:56] Find out what Ethan's advice would be about make a transition even when you can't see all the pieces of the puzzle.
- [39:23] Why it can feel hard to feel committed to your job when there's so few incentives
- [46:42] Listen to what a typical day looks like as an instructional designer at a University.
Connect with Ethan
Email him @Ethan.Deceuster@dixie.edu with your questions!
Have you joined the Podcast Facebook Community yet?
This episode may be over, but connecting doesn’t have to! Come join us each week to share your takeaways from this week’s episode. Let this community help brainstorm with you and help you get one step closer to your next career!
Resources Mentioned in the Show
- Teacher Transition Website
- Ready to dive into YOUR career in instructional design? Click HERE to enroll in the course- From Teacher to Instructional Designer today!
- Wondering if you’d like working in instruction design? Take the “Would I Enjoy Being an Instructional Designer” Quiz to find out!
